WITH an annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate between nine to 10 per cent for some 30 years, China has quickly become the second largest economy in the world.
This is just one of the reasons the Government of Guyana has placed greater interest in ensuring that more Guyanese begin to learn the language, which has the potential to become the most widely-spoken in the world.

Director of the Foreign Service Institute, Ambassador Ronald Austin, told the newspaper that Mandarin classes are now being taught to public servants more actively.
The classes take place every Wednesday at the Guyana Police Force’s (GPF) Training Centre on Camp Street and are being taught with the help of the Confucius Institute of the University of Guyana (UG).

“I think what people are recognising is that they have to prepare for a world in which Mandarin will be one of the main languages…China is a big trading power. It is the second largest economy in the world. It does trading all over the world and has relations with almost every continent that you can think about.”

“In dealing with China you have to understand the language spoken by its people, even though most Chinese – certainly the ones who are diplomats, investors and more — speak English. But it helps countries like Guyana, if we can all learn the language to get a better grasp of the way they think,” Ambassador Austin said.

During the length of the initiative, the language has moved along from being taught at the elementary level to the intermediate level. At the end of the course the students will be asked to write a special exam and, once successful, they will be given the opportunity to go to a summer camp all the way in Beijing.

“There, they learn a lot about the Chinese and it’s an opportunity for them to speak the Chinese language extensively because they go from Beijing to different parts of China,” the Ambassador explained. In the class, the students are also taught aspects of the Chinese culture and participate in a number of activities to help with the process of understanding and learning.